CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot was on hand for a ribbon cutting and ground breaking at a massive industrial park that's taking shape on the Southeast Side.
The Commerce Park Chicago development from Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development is located on the site of the old Republic Steel Plant at 121st and Avenue O. The plant closed in 2001 after decades of decline. Mayor Lightfoot said she knows the economic devastation that comes with a plant closure.
"Many of you know I grew up in a steel town in Ohio. Republic Steel was the largest employer in my town. When it left, it left a deep wound in my town that still hasn't been healed," Lightfoot said.
She added that the Commerce Park development will create hundreds of construction jobs and over a thousand permanent jobs.
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"NorthPoint partnered with organized labor, community organizations, and our city to ensure that these opportunities will go to local employers, subcontractors, and residents from underrepresented backgrounds," Lightfoot said.
NorthPoint said it picked the location because of plentiful land, a large pool of employees, and proximity to the nearby Ford plant.